The end of the UK tax year for 2017/18 was 5 April 2018 and taxpayers need to consider completing and filing their Tax Returns for this year.

Tax Returns usually need to be filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 January following the end of the tax year if you file online (or by 31 October following the end of the tax year if you file a hard copy paper Tax Return).

Non-domiciled individuals that have come to work in the UK need to open offshore bank accounts outside the UK to take advantage of rules which exclude earnings from non-UK duties from being taxable in the UK. This relief is known as Overseas Workday Relief – or OWR - and in broad terms applies for up to three years providing employment earnings are paid outside the UK – offshore – and not remitted/brought to the UK.

The UK tax rules for non-domiciled individuals were thrown into confusion by the proposed reforms to apply from 6 April 2017 not being included in the Finance Act 2017, however, the Government has now confirmed that the Finance Bill due to be published in September 2017 will include the proposed reforms and that they will appl

The government is clearly focused on directing private investment away from property and into areas that are more likely to stimulate economic growth, leading to a series of policies targeted against buy-to-let property owners.

George Osborne’s recent deliverance of the 2016 Budget speech announced that the current higher rate of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) in April will see a reduction from 28% to 20%. The basic rate too will reduce from 18% to 10%. This will affect you if you are looking to sell assets which will realise a capital gain.

ATED is an annual tax payable by companies and other non-natural persons that own UK residential properties. From 1 April 2016 onwards ATED will apply to properties valued at £500,000 or more, where it previously only applied to properties worth at least £1 million. The ATED valuation date is 1 April 2012 or the date the property was acquired if that was later.

Many non-domiciled individuals that have come to work in the UK open offshore bank accounts outside the UK to take advantage of rules which exclude earnings from non-UK duties from being taxable in the UK (known as Overseas Workday Relief – OWR) .

There are always as number of factors for “expats” to consider whether this relates to non-domiciled individuals (“non-doms”) living/working in the UK or Brits leaving the UK and seeking to establish non-residence status.

Pension contributions to a UK registered plan remain a highly tax-advantaged strategy with personal tax relief due at up to 60% depending on your income level, and tax-free growth within the pension fund once contributions have been made.

Despite a massive outcry last year against suggestions that HMRC should gain powers to collect tax debts directly from taxpayers’ bank accounts under the Direct Recovery of Debts (DRD) rules, it has recently been announced that HMRC intends to push forward regardless.

Income Tax Payable on UK Property Income HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) continues to ramp up its effort to collect the right amount of tax owed by non-residents. Individuals that are non-residents of the UK and/or who have their “normal place of abode” outside the UK need to register with HMRC as non-resident landlords if they […]

US LLCs: change in UK Tax Treatment The UK Supreme Court has recently issued a final judgement in the long running case of Anson v HMRC (the Swift case), which has been appealed several times but has finally been decided in the taxpayer’s favour. The ruling by the Supreme Court is that Anson is entitled to […]

The General Anti-Abuse Rules The General Anti-Abuse Rules (GAAR) introduced by the 2013 Finance Act, together with Accelerated Payment Notices and Follower Notices introduced by the 2014 Finance Act, have changed the arena in which tax avoidance schemes work. Where a tax avoidance scheme has met all the legal requirements within the relevant legislation applying […]

Election Pension Tax Planning With voting in the General Election under way today, taxpayers might want to act quickly to secure valuable tax reliefs on UK registered pension contributions. Many of the parties involved in the Election are openly proposing cuts in the amount of tax relief available for UK pension contributions, either by limiting […]

Tax on Separation and Divorce Unfortunately, marriage breakdown is a fact of life. This article is intended to provide some initial brief guidance on some of the tax implications on separation/divorce but of course there is no substitute for consultation with a fully qualified tax adviser because circumstances will always differ on a case by […]

UK Self Assessment Tax Return Filing and Penalties 2014/15 Tax Returns The end of the UK tax year for 2014/15 was 5 April 2015 and taxpayers need to consider completing and filing their Tax Returns for this year. Tax Returns usually need to be filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 January following […]

UK Property Sales: Capital Gains Tax for Non-Residents From 6 April 2015 the sale of UK residential property by a non-resident expat will potentially be liable to UK capital gains tax. The new rules will not apply to capital gains relating to periods before 6 April 2015. Non-resident expat individuals will have three available options […]

Death of the UK Tax Return for Expats? The Chancellor may have indicated recently that “the death of the UK Tax Return” is likely over the coming years but as far as “Expats” are concerned, it seems inconceivable that they will not need to continue filing their annual UK Tax Return. For example, HM Revenue […]

EFRBS Settlement Opportunity Deadline Employer-Financed Retirement Benefits Schemes (EFRBS) for a while were a popular pension planning tool as they appeared to allow a Corporation Tax deduction for employer contributions to an EFRBS scheme on the basis that either (a) the contribution to the EFRBS or (b) a subsequent transfer to a second EFRBS is […]

2015 Budget Summary Many of the provisions announced in Wednesday’s 2015 Budget have previously been trailed by the Treasury, for example via the autumn statement. The main highlights from what proved to be an unexciting Budget are summarised below. 2015 Budget Changes for Personal Tax The Personal Allowance will increase again over the coming years […]

Top Year End UK Personal Tax Planning Tips! With the end of the 2014-15 UK tax year (5 April) looming into view and the UK Budget scheduled for 18 March, it is time to consider various year end UK personal tax planning tips that might make a difference in reducing your tax liabilities. Our top […]

Changes to the Taxation of Share Awards for Expats The UK’s income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NIC) rules for the treatment of an internationally mobile employee (IME) receiving employment related securities (ERS) share awards will change from 6 April 2015. Income Tax The current rules for the income tax treatment of ERS received by […]

When to Register for VAT VAT Registration When Should I Register? You may need to register for VAT, or you may be able to choose to register voluntarily if you are doing any of the following kinds of business in the UK: Supplying goods or services within the UK. If your turnover of VAT taxable […]

Capital Allowances – Are You Claiming All You Can? In general, capital expenditure is not allowed as a deduction when calculating the taxable profits of your business. Instead, relief for capital expenditure is given via capital allowances, which seek to give relief over the life of a qualifying asset by providing a tax deduction on […]

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Changes The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement set out changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) that were introduced from midnight 4 December 2014. SDLT will now be charged on residential property at the rate applicable for each slice of the property value falling in each band, rather than the whole value […]

Relief for Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings The Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) was introduced from 1 April 2013 and requires certain non-natural persons, such as companies, to pay an annual charge if they own UK residential property and the property was worth £2 million or over as at 1 April 2012 or at […]

Employer Staging Date for Automatic Enrolment UK law requires all employers, including small (5-49 employees) and micro (1-4 employees), to provide a workplace pension and automatically enrol eligible staff – this is automatic enrolment. Each employer has a staging date by which they need to comply with the law. Research by the Pensions Regulator has […]

Pensions – 55% “Death Tax” Abolished The positive news keeps on arriving for people that have built up UK pension funds. Following on from recent announcements of favourable changes to the flexibility of pension plans, the Treasury has confirmed that the Government intends to alter the rules relating to tax charges that currently apply to […]

Retained Cash and Business Property Relief A shareholding in an unquoted trading company is usually covered by Business Property Relief (BPR) and therefore not subject to Inheritance Tax, but the ability to claim this relief may be undermined by a commercial decision to retain surplus cash. HMRC are of the opinion that excess cash retained […]

UK Property Income Taxation According to recent press reports, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is once again ramping up its campaign against UK property landlords that it perceives are evading tax on rent from UK Property Income. HMRC plans to send 40,000 letters to UK buy-to-let owners that it believes may owe tax. The letters warn […]

UK Pension Regime: A New Age The dust has to a certain extent settled since the Government announced to everyone’s great surprise in the 2014 Budget that members of Defined Contribution (DC) UK pension plans would have far greater flexibility in accessing their pension savings on reaching age 55. Previously, it was necessary to buy […]

Mixed Partnerships: Partnership Profit Allocation The profits of mixed partnerships are taxable on each partner as if it is their own trading income. This means that individuals who are members of a partnership are taxed on their profit share at income tax rates of up to 45%, while corporate partners will be taxed on their profit […]

Non-Residents Personal Allowance: Consultation At present, certain non-resident individuals with UK sourced taxable income (such as property rental profit) will benefit from being able to claim the UK Personal Allowance (PA). This is the tax-free amount of income that can be received by an individual before tax starts to be charged. Personal Allowance The current PA […]

Inheritance Tax on Trusts to Increase On 6 June 2014, HMRC released proposals for changes to the way Inheritance Tax (IHT) on settlements (trusts) is calculated, which could significantly increase the IHT payable. In an effort to stop trusts from being established specifically to beat the new legislation, the changes will apply to any trust […]

New Pooling Requirements Limit Capital Allowances Claims If you are planning on purchasing or selling a commercial property containing plant and machinery then you may be affected by the new rules regarding Capital Allowances (CAs) that has taken effect from 1 April 2014 for corporate taxpayers and from 6 April 2014 for income tax payers. […]

Up to £2,000 off Class 1 Employment Allowance From 6 April 2014, eligible employers can claim the Employment Allowance and reduce their employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) by up to £2000.00 each tax year. Employers can claim the Employment Allowance if they are a business or charity (including Community Amateur Sports Clubs) that […]

HMRC is currently sending letters to companies that have made contributions to Employer Financed Retirement Benefit Schemes (EFRBS) that outline an opportunity to settle the taxation treatment of these contributions under one of two possible treatments.

Fee Protection Services 2014 (Please see ‘Fee Protection’ pages for up to date information) Our Tax Investigations Service is fully backed by an Insurance Policy, which we have taken out with Abbey Tax Protection. The Service covers the period 1st January to 31st December annually and we are able to make a claim in respect […]

Self Assessment Penalties for Tax Year Ended 5 April 2013 Self-assessment tax returns (form SA100) for the year ended 5 April 2013 need to be submitted to H M Revenue & Customs (HMRC) no later 31 January 2014. The returns will need to be filed electronically as the date for submitting returns in paper copy […]

Directors Loan Accounts When a close company makes a loan to a participator (shareholder) which is outstanding at the accounting year end, HMRC charges the company to tax at 25% of the value of the outstanding loan. This is to discourage lending to directors (which is otherwise almost free from income tax) instead of taking […]

Capital Gains on Residential Property It is commonly known that there is an exemption from capital gains tax for the sale by a person of their main residence. This rule is not quite as simple as it seems and a number of quirks exist that can help reduce your exposure to residential property tax. Private […]

The Media and Tax Avoidance Tax avoidance is making headlines at the moment, be it celebrity involvement in off the shelf structures or multinational corporations paying surprisingly low amounts of corporation tax in the UK. This is a hugely emotive issue but it is also a highly technical one that is not always fairly or […]

Tax Return Deadline Date Looms for Paper Returns HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are reminding individuals to submit their paper Tax Returns for the 2011-12 year by 31 October 2012 to avoid automatic £100 penalties that will be levied if this deadline is not met. The £100 penalty will be charged even if a refund […]

Pensions Auto Enrolment The process of pension auto enrolment has begun. The process started with the biggest employers on 1 October 2012 and will be staggered over the next few years until 2018. The smallest employers begin auto-enrolment for their staff in January 2015. Contributions will start with employees paying in a minimum of 0.8% […]

UK: Swiss Tax Changes Germany and Switzerland have recently announced an increase to the rate of tax chargeable on undeclared accounts under their double tax agreement, and this change is likely to impact on UK based holders of Swiss bank accounts too. This is because a clause in the UK-Swiss treaty allows for the UK […]

With the end of the UK tax year (5 April) looming in to view; it is time to consider various year end tax planning that might make a difference in reducing your tax liabilities. Issues to consider include but are not limited to:

A Record Number of On-Time Taxpayers Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said that taxpayers meeting the filing deadlines on-time this year were the highest since HMRC was created. Some 9.4 million, or 90.4 per cent of taxpayers managed to file their 2010-2011 Tax Return on time and avoid incurring late filing penalties. This […]

ESC C16: Voluntary Liquidation When a company goes into voluntary liquidation HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) allows shareholders to receive the surplus assets of the company as a capital distribution instead of as a dividend. The advantage to receiving these often substantial sums as a capital distribution is that they are eligible for tax at […]

Self Assessment Tax Returns We have already reminded our clients that new automatic penalties apply to late filed 2010-11 Tax Returns, even where no tax is owed at the filing date, 31st January 2012. Please don’t be caught out by the new rules and make sure you file on time! If you have not previously […]

The publication 'Modernising Administration of the Person Tax System' details ideas of how personal taxes can be made more visible to individuals and invites professionals and taxpayers to submit their views on a number of questions about the subjects mentioned below.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced that they intend to extend the Seafarers' Earnings Deduction to European Economic Area (EEA)/European Union (EU) resident seafarers who have paid UK tax from 2011 - 12.

Pension Tax Relief Imbalances Pension tax relief is being missed out on by some 35% workers, a study by Prudential has found. The survey of 1,600 working adults revealed that there will be a significant dependency on the state pension in years to come and that those that do contribute to a company or private […]

“Amnesty” VAT ” Rule Breakers HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC ) have today issued a reminder to all unregistered individuals and businesses trading above the VAT registration threshold (VAT rule breakers) that they have until the 30th of September to come forward in return for a reduced penalty. The campaign to crack down on VAT rule breakers was formally […]

On 15 May 2018, the EU reinstated State Aid Approval for the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) Scheme, which had lapsed on 6 April 2018. This means that EMI options granted to employees will once again receive a beneficial tax treatment.